Propolis, a complex bee product, is a source of numerous bioactive principles, beneficial for human health, therefore it is intensively studied. In the present work, extracts of propolis from Bihor ...Romanian County were studied to identify the relationship between the polyphenolic derivatives profile and their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Extracts were obtained using water and 25%, 50%, and 70% ethanolic solutions (w/w), at 2:1, 4:1, and 6:1 liquid: solid ratios (w/w). 21 polyphenolic derivatives were quantified by UHPLC-MS, proving that the extracts composition strongly depends on the solvent. The sum of quantified polyphenolics extracted varied between 1.5 and 91.2 mg/g propolis. The antioxidant capacity was evaluated using the free radicals 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6 sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) and 1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging methods. Antimicrobial efficiency was tested against Gram-positive (B. subtilis), Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli), and fungi (C. albicans) by disc-diffusion method. All extracts, even the aqueous ones, demonstrated antibacterial and antifungal activity. Chemometric methods (partial least squares) and a saturation-type model were used to evaluate the contribution of various bioactive principles in building the antioxidant capacity of extracts. Both experimental and modelling results show that 50% ethanolic extracts provide a rich polyphenolics profile and ensure a good antioxidant capacity.
This study describes three unilateral cases of hemorrhagic occlusive retinal vasculitis (HORV) after cataract surgery and a review of the literature until February 2022, including 21 articles ...reporting HORV cases. Altogether, 61 eyes (41 patients) were included. Twenty patients had bilateral and 21 patients had unilateral HORV. Prophylactic vancomycin was given to all patients. Additional vancomycin use was associated with the worst outcome. The mean time to HORV was 9 days post-cataract surgery. In bilateral cases, the median time between surgeries was 7 days. Visual acuity was < 20/400 in 48%, with no light perception in 20%. Neovascular glaucoma developed in 43%. Central macular thickening or hyperreflectivity of the inner retinal layers on optical coherence tomography was associated with worse outcomes. Corticosteroid treatment, early panretinal laser photocoagulation, or anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy, and prophylaxis alternative to vancomycin is recommended.
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The 2015/16 El Niño event caused unprecedented drought and warming in the Amazon basin. How tropical forests react to such extreme events in terms of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions is of ...interest as the frequency of these events is predicted to increase through climate change. The diverse VOCs emitted can be significant for plants' carbon budgets, influence ozone and particle production, and through their reactivity impact OH concentrations. Total OH reactivity is a directly measureable quantity that gives the reaction frequency of OH radicals with all reactive species in the atmosphere in s
−1
. Here we present a comparison of the OH reactivity diel cycle from November 2015, i.e., extreme drought and elevated temperatures associated with strong El Niño conditions, with November 2012, a “normal” El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-neutral period. Interestingly, the diel maximum of OH reactivity during the El Niño event occurred at sunset instead of, under normal conditions, early afternoon. The absolute total diel OH reactivity, however, did not change significantly. Daytime OH reactivity averages were 24.3 ± 14.5 s
−1
in 2012 and 24.6 ± 11.9 s
−1
in 2015, respectively. Our findings suggest that a combination of stronger turbulent transport above the canopy with stress-related monoterpene and, possibly, other biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions were responsible for the increased reactivity at sunset.
Liquid fraction produced in anaerobic digestion (AD) of biodegradable waste can be treated on-site with microalgae, which can be recycled back as substrate to the biogas plant. For this research, a ...pilot high rate algal pond (HRAP) was set with connections to a full scale biogas plant that enabled the use of waste heat and CO2 from a combined heat and power gen-set (CHP). The microalgal mix produced in the thermophilic anaerobic digestate supernatant was tested as a substrate for biogas production in the thermophilic AD (i.e. untreated, bioaugmented with anaerobic bacteria Clostridium thermocellum, and thermally pretreated, respectively). The methane potential of the untreated microalgal mix was low (157.5 ± 18.7 mL CH4/g VS). However, after the thermal pretreatment of the microalgae, methane production increased by 62%, while in the bioaugmentation with C. thermocellum under thermophilic conditions (T = 55 °C) it was elevated by 12%. The outcome of our pilot trial suggests that microalgae produced in the thermophilic biogas digestate represent a prospective alternative AD feedstock. At the same time, microalgae reduce the digestate nitrogen and COD to the level sufficient for the outflow to meet the quality required by the sewage system (ammonia-nitrogen max 200 mg/L, nitrite max 10 mg/L).
•A pilot plant for treating thermophilic anaerobic digestate supernatant with microalgae was constructed outdoor (89 m2).•The removal efficiency by algal treatment of digestate was 83–97% for NH4-N, and 81–95% for COD.•By a continuous 63-day treatment under favorable weather conditions 22.5 g of TS/day/m2 of a microalgal mix was produced.•Biomethane potential of thermally pretreated microalgal mix showed significantly elevated methane production (+62%).•Bioaugmentation with Clostridium thermocellum increased methane production from microalgal mix by 12%.
•Behavioral changes and governmental strategies are needed to address COVID-19.•Protective behaviors and support for measures are often studied separately.•However, these individual and collective ...pathways are cross-amplifying.•Research should address connections between individual and collective pathways.
In times of unprecedented infectious disease threats, it is essential to understand how to increase individual protective behaviors and support for collective measures. The present study therefore examines factors associated with individual and collective pathways.
Data was collected through an online survey from 4483 participants (70.8% female, M = 41.2 years) across 10 countries from April 15, 2020 to June 2, 2020 as part of the "EUCLID" project (https://euclid.dbvis.de). Structural equation modeling was used to examine individual and collective pathways across and within countries.
Overall, the adoption of individual protective behaviors and support for collective measures were high. Risk perception on the individual level and perceived effectiveness at the collective level were positively associated with both individual protective behaviors and support for collective measures. Furthermore, the model explained considerable variance in individual (40.7%) and collective protective behaviors (40.8%) and was largely replicated across countries.
The study extends previous research by demonstrating that individual risk perception and perceived effectiveness of collective measures jointly affect individual protective health behaviors and support for collective measures. These findings highlight the need to jointly consider a variety of behavioral actions against infectious disease threats, acknowledging interactions between individual and collective pathways.
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Even though Saccharomyces cerevisiae starter cultures are still largely used nowadays, the non-Saccharomyces contribution is re-evaluated, showing positive enological characteristics. Among them, ...Lachancea thermotolerans is one of the key yeast species that are desired for their contribution to wine sensory characteristics. The main goal of this work was to explore the impact of L. thermotolerans commercial yeast strain used in sequential inoculation with S. cerevisiae commercial yeast on the main enological parameters and volatile aroma profile of Trnjak, Babić, Blatina, and Frankovka red wines and compare it with wines produced by the use of S. cerevisiae commercial yeast strain. In all sequential fermented wines, lactic acid concentrations were significantly higher, ranging from 0.20 mg/L in Trnjak up to 0.92 mg/L in Frankovka wines, while reducing alcohol levels from 0.1% v/v in Trnjak up to 0.9% v/v in Frankovka wines. Among volatile compounds, a significant increase of ethyl lactate and isobutyl acetate, geraniol, and geranyl acetate was detected in all wines made by use of L. thermotolerans. In Babić wines, the strongest influence of sequential fermentation was connected with higher total terpenes and total ester concentrations, while Trnjak sequentially fermented wines stood up with higher total aldehyde, volatile phenol, and total lactone concentrations. Control wines, regardless of variety, stood up with higher concentrations of total higher alcohols, especially isoamyl alcohol. The present work contributed to a better understanding of the fermentation possibilities of selected non-Saccharomyces strains in the overall red wine quality modeling.
•UAE changes polyphenolic acids and flavonoids profiles compared to maceration.•Solvent is the key operational parameter setting up extracted polyphenolics profile.•50% ethanol & UAE boost yield, ...antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activity.
Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was applied for polyphenols extraction from Romanian propolis, followed by comparison with previous maceration work. The effects consisted not only in time reduction and extraction yield increase, but also in polyphenolics profile modification in terms of flavonoids / polyphenolic acids ratio. The operating parameters were ultrasounds (US) field exposure time (10–100 min), solvent composition (water, 25 % and 50 % ethanolic solutions, w/w), and liquid:solid ratio (2:1, 4:1 and 6:1, w:w), while keeping temperature constant. 24 polyphenolic derivatives were quantified by UHPLC-HRMS. UAE favored the extraction of pinocembrin, isorhamnetin and chrysin in water and 25 % ethanol, leading to different profiles than maceration, and further influences upon the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. All extracts demonstrated increased antibacterial and antifungal activity compared to maceration, particularly the 50 % ethanolic extracts, which presented a three-times larger antioxidant capacity. Chemometric methods (Principal Component Analysis – PCA and Partial Least Squares Regression – PLS) and a saturation type model were used to correlate the polyphenolics profiles and antioxidant capacity. Experimental and modelling results concluded that 50 % ethanolic solutions and UAE represent the favorable operating conditions in terms of yield and extracts quality.
The current study reports the use of silver (Ag) and samarium (Sm) as dopants to improve the properties of standard bioglass in terms of biological performance. This experiment considers thin films ...of doped bioglass obtained by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and spin coating (SC). For both methods, some parameters were gradually varied, as the main objective was to produce a bioglass that could be used in biomedical fields. In order to study the morphology, the phase composition and other properties, the samples obtained were subjected to multiple analyses, such as thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Furthermore, the in vitro bioactivity of the samples, as assessed through simulated body fluid (SBF) immersion, as well as immunocytochemistry and evaluation of actin filaments, assessed through fluorescence microscopy, are reported. The results confirmed the formation of the designed vitreous target employed as the source of material in the PLD experiments only at sintering temperatures below 800 °C; this vitreous nature was preserved in the grown film as well. The presence of Ag and Ce dopants in the parent glassy matrix was validated for all stages, from powder, to target, to PLD/SC-derived coatings. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the surface topography of the layers can be adjusted by using substrates with different roughness or by modulating the processing parameters, such as substrate temperature and working pressure in PLD, rotation speed, and number of layers in SC. The developed material was found to be highly bioactive after 28 days of immersion in SBF, but it was also found to be a potential candidate for inhibiting the growth of Gram-negative bacteria and a suitable support for cell growth and proliferation.
To describe the clinical course and the multimodal imaging of acute idiopathic maculopathy.
Medical records and multimodal imaging including color fundus photography, optical coherence tomography, ...and fundus autofluorescence were retrospectively reviewed. Recognition of the fundus autofluorescence patterns and their relationship with the disease duration, best-corrected visual acuity, and optical coherence tomography features represented the main outcome measures.
Seventeen eyes of 16 patients (7 women; mean age 29.9 years) with a mean follow-up of 23.9 months were included. The mean best-corrected visual acuity at presentation was 0.63 ± 0.54 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (Snellen equivalent, 20/85). All but one patient had the best-corrected visual acuity recovery to 20/20. Four sequential patterns of fundus autofluorescence corresponding to 4 proposed stages of disease were observed. Patterns 1 (central hypoautofluorescence with surrounding hyperautofluorescence) and 2 (stippled hyperautofluorescence and hypoautofluorescence) were found at presentation. Patterns 3 (central hyperautofluorescence surrounded by hypoautofluorescence) and 4 (hypoautofluorescence) were observed during the disease course and/or at the last follow-up visit. Duration of the disease was significantly different between patterns at baseline and last visit. Pattern 1 significantly related to the presence of subretinal detachment (Fisher's exact test; P =0.003) on optical coherence tomography in comparison with Pattern 2. Pattern 4 showed unique homogeneously decreased autofluorescence with corresponding attenuation of retinal pigment epithelium and restored outer retinal layers on optical coherence tomography.
A sequential disease staging based on multimodal imaging for acute idiopathic maculopathy is proposed. The recognition of the observed imaging patterns may help clinicians in the correct diagnosis and patient counseling.
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